Believe it or not, I'm actually having a battle right now as I type. Every night it's the same battle. Tell Aiden it's time for bed, he gets in and out of bed several times as he makes up excuses and tries to manipulate me into letting him do anything besides going to bed. We always start in his room and he often either finally ends up going to sleep as I sit stirring with irritation and anger after at least a half hour long battle...or...he makes his way out to the living room where he eventually crashes on the couch or floor since at this point I'm so pissed and just want him to go to sleep no matter where it's at. At this point he could sleep on the kitchen table for all I care! All I know is these battles need to end pronto! I absolutely hate ending our nights on a negative note. I get upset with him, lose my patience and my me time begins with frustration and anger as I crack open a bottle of wine or beer to relax and try to enjoy what little adult time I have.
Just in the time I've typed this Aiden has moved from the living room floor, to the couch and now back to the floor. It comes down to the point of me just having to ignore him. I either turn off the tv and listen to some music, or turn something on that's of no interest to him so eventually he could care less what's on, get bored and fall asleep while he obviously fights every second of it. If he only knew how amazing sleep is! One day he'll learn and then I'll be dragging his ass out of bed each morning for school!
We recently ordered custom made bunk beds for the boys that are being delivered tomorrow. We have high hopes that the wow factor will make Aiden want to sleep in his own bed, and for the whole night. I have yet to mention that even when I do successfully get him to sleep in his bed, every night or early morning he makes his way down to our bed where he once again takes control and hogs my side of the bed often forcing me to sleep on the couch. Yup, we have major issues on our hand. No need to point that out to me. Anyways, I know the bunk bed idea could totally backfire on us, but we have our fingers crossed...tight! He has told us that sleeping up high would help so the monsters and ghosts can't reach him. Smart kid, right?!
Okay...nobody speak, nobody breathe! Aiden has crashed! I will soon move him to his bed and see his sweet face again around 3 in the morning as he crawls into bed with me and Don. Not the end of the world. It could always be worse. I just hope and pray that our battles become less and less as he learns there's nothing to fear, sleep is a wonderful thing and mommy is here for him forever!
Sweet dreams Aiden....now pour me a glass of wine!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Never Ending Wrath (and laughs) of Liam.
I can't even begin to tell you how much of a sweet handful my little Liam is! I know I've mentioned this just a few times before, okay, maybe a few hundred times, but his wild and crazy actions never cease to amaze me every day. All I can say is there is never a lack of entertainment and madness in the Sweet household! I suppose it's better then a boring household, so we'll keep Liam around and keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't destroy our entire home, or my sanity, in the mean time.
Aiden was nothing like Liam when he was a baby. He really never got into much and was quite content with whatever toys we put in front of him. He liked to play with the kitchen pots, pans and utensils, but for the most part he wasn't a very curious baby getting into everything like Liam does. I honestly don't remember Aiden even once rolling the toilet paper all over the place. And he never really got into any cupboards, or we'd have put the child safety locks on them, which many are still lacking and giving Liam a free for all way too often. Aiden was never a climber and didn't feel the need to explore the unknown much, unlike Mr Liam who is all over the place from the top to the bottom of the house. It's so interesting how brothers who came from the same parents can come out so different. Aiden is much more difficult now as a sassy and demanding preschooler then he ever was as a baby. Lets just hope Liam is the opposite and gets easier and more laid back with age. Hey! Wishful thinking never hurt anyone! :)
Every day is a new day with Liam and I swear he finds something new to get into all the time. He has this mischievous enjoyment of shaking our lamps until they fall and in some cases even break. He also loves to shake the living room end tables until everything on them is on the floor. It's nuts! He recently shook one of our end tables so much that the bolts came loose and were later found on the floor! Yesterday he shook the lamp until it fell over onto him and into the Christmas tree. Good lord! I have no idea how this tree is still even standing! It may only be partially lit, missing a string of cranberry beads that Liam broke and missing several ornaments that are now broken as well, but the thing is still standing so that's all that matters!
Yesterday Liam also shook another side table that has a built it lamp on it until the lamp shade fell off! This is his favorite table to shake, rattle and just about roll across the floor. I have no clue what the fun is in this game of his, but I sure hope he gets over it soon. Sometimes I can't help but laugh because he looks right at me, gives me a little stinker grin and runs full force ahead to the table. As I'm yelling no at him he just laughs at me. Can you believe this kid?! He laughs whenever I say no, like yeah right mom! I'm going to do what I'm going to do and you can't stop me!
To top it off he is a major food thrower. At first he would just throw a piece of food onto the floor to let me know he's done. Now it's become another little stinker game of his he likes to play just to drive me crazy. He will literally look right at me, get a huge shit eating grin on his face and chuck food clear across the kitchen as I run over to attempt to stop him. He laughs and he laughs. All I can say is it could be worse. I could have carpet in my dining room and oh what an even bigger mess that would create. Yesterday I gave him some fresh rotisserie chicken that he's always loved. He took one bite, spit it out and chucked the rest all over the floor. I picked the mess up as he started to chow on his mac n cheese. Sure enough, moments later I was picking up mac n cheese from not just the floor, but the counter, the stove, the coffee maker and the dishwasher. Talk about a good arm on the kid! Hmmmm.....maybe I should sign him up for baseball soon?
Liam might be a huge handful, but he is as sweet as sugar and brings tons of smiles and laughter into our chaotic home as well. He is way ahead of his age, as the second child tends to be, but of course because he's my child he seems like a genius to me! He has amazing eye and hand coordination and even already eats with silverware! Aiden didn't do that until he was two and a half! One of his most favorite things to do is put coins into their piggy bank. It's adorable! We just might have an accountant on our hands! I'm just thankful he hasn't ate any of the coins....yet!
I'm such a proud mama. I know my boys aren't perfect and honestly I prefer it that way. I'm not a perfect parent and I'm okay with that too. Parenting and perfectionism mix like oil and water....it doesn't work and only makes for one stressed out and unhappy mama! My boys might piss me off daily, but the sweet comments they make and the little loving gestures they do out of the blue and the smiles and laughter they bless me and Don with always outweigh the things they do to tick me off and stress me out on any given day.
Aiden was nothing like Liam when he was a baby. He really never got into much and was quite content with whatever toys we put in front of him. He liked to play with the kitchen pots, pans and utensils, but for the most part he wasn't a very curious baby getting into everything like Liam does. I honestly don't remember Aiden even once rolling the toilet paper all over the place. And he never really got into any cupboards, or we'd have put the child safety locks on them, which many are still lacking and giving Liam a free for all way too often. Aiden was never a climber and didn't feel the need to explore the unknown much, unlike Mr Liam who is all over the place from the top to the bottom of the house. It's so interesting how brothers who came from the same parents can come out so different. Aiden is much more difficult now as a sassy and demanding preschooler then he ever was as a baby. Lets just hope Liam is the opposite and gets easier and more laid back with age. Hey! Wishful thinking never hurt anyone! :)
Every day is a new day with Liam and I swear he finds something new to get into all the time. He has this mischievous enjoyment of shaking our lamps until they fall and in some cases even break. He also loves to shake the living room end tables until everything on them is on the floor. It's nuts! He recently shook one of our end tables so much that the bolts came loose and were later found on the floor! Yesterday he shook the lamp until it fell over onto him and into the Christmas tree. Good lord! I have no idea how this tree is still even standing! It may only be partially lit, missing a string of cranberry beads that Liam broke and missing several ornaments that are now broken as well, but the thing is still standing so that's all that matters!
Yesterday Liam also shook another side table that has a built it lamp on it until the lamp shade fell off! This is his favorite table to shake, rattle and just about roll across the floor. I have no clue what the fun is in this game of his, but I sure hope he gets over it soon. Sometimes I can't help but laugh because he looks right at me, gives me a little stinker grin and runs full force ahead to the table. As I'm yelling no at him he just laughs at me. Can you believe this kid?! He laughs whenever I say no, like yeah right mom! I'm going to do what I'm going to do and you can't stop me!
To top it off he is a major food thrower. At first he would just throw a piece of food onto the floor to let me know he's done. Now it's become another little stinker game of his he likes to play just to drive me crazy. He will literally look right at me, get a huge shit eating grin on his face and chuck food clear across the kitchen as I run over to attempt to stop him. He laughs and he laughs. All I can say is it could be worse. I could have carpet in my dining room and oh what an even bigger mess that would create. Yesterday I gave him some fresh rotisserie chicken that he's always loved. He took one bite, spit it out and chucked the rest all over the floor. I picked the mess up as he started to chow on his mac n cheese. Sure enough, moments later I was picking up mac n cheese from not just the floor, but the counter, the stove, the coffee maker and the dishwasher. Talk about a good arm on the kid! Hmmmm.....maybe I should sign him up for baseball soon?
Liam might be a huge handful, but he is as sweet as sugar and brings tons of smiles and laughter into our chaotic home as well. He is way ahead of his age, as the second child tends to be, but of course because he's my child he seems like a genius to me! He has amazing eye and hand coordination and even already eats with silverware! Aiden didn't do that until he was two and a half! One of his most favorite things to do is put coins into their piggy bank. It's adorable! We just might have an accountant on our hands! I'm just thankful he hasn't ate any of the coins....yet!
I'm such a proud mama. I know my boys aren't perfect and honestly I prefer it that way. I'm not a perfect parent and I'm okay with that too. Parenting and perfectionism mix like oil and water....it doesn't work and only makes for one stressed out and unhappy mama! My boys might piss me off daily, but the sweet comments they make and the little loving gestures they do out of the blue and the smiles and laughter they bless me and Don with always outweigh the things they do to tick me off and stress me out on any given day.
Friday, December 9, 2011
All I Want for Christmas is my Sanity
I would give anything to be able to take a glimpse into the home of another stay at home mom with two boys to see how she does it and if she is often just as overwhelmed as me. I know I'm not alone, but to be able to physically see that other moms deal with the same issues I do on a daily basis would honestly do my sanity wonders.
99% of the time I absolutely love being a stay at home mom and wouldn't trade it for the world. However, on those other 1% days I ask myself if I'm the right person for this challenging job. Today is sadly one of those days. I hate feeling this way and am always caught off guard by the feelings as well. These feelings are often followed by me hiding out in the bathroom and quietly crying as I try to decompress, take some deep breaths and suck it up to do what I have to do...caring, nurturing, teaching and loving my boys endlessly no matter how crazy they make me at times.
This morning started out good. I got some terrific sleep filled with some sweet dreams, including one of my hottie celebrity bad boy crush Eminem. You can't not wake up with a smile on your face after dreaming about him! Hee hee hee! Anyways, the boys got up and played well together...at first. That quickly changed and lead to some massive fights followed by loud cries and a river of tears. There is nothing worse then having to deal with screaming and crying kids first thing in the morning while you're still trying to wake up and start the day off on the right foot. It was quite obvious that the wrong foot got the best of our household and my head soon began to throb. Aiden had two time outs by 8am, I had already lost my patience several times and the wrath of Liam had quickly begun to torture our house and everything in his path!
The minute I try to do something as quickly and as simple as going downstairs to make our bed and pick out my clothes for the day, I return upstairs to find Aiden had crashed Liam into the Christmas tree on his ride-on bus creating a huge needle mess, the toilet paper had been completely rolled out all over the bathroom floor, Aiden had eaten candy off the gingerbread house breaking off chunks of the icing all over the kitchen counters and Liam was playing with the disgusting toilet plunger. Wow! It was enough to make my head spin! Maybe on other days when I hadn't already lost my patience I would have been able to handle these findings with a much more positive and humorous attitude, but thanks to the way our day had already started I was by far in no mood to clean up mess after mess all while trying to keep the boys from not killing each other too.
Challenge? To say the least! It's like one of those days when I used to work outside the house and all day long I had to repeat to myself, I love my job, I love my job, I love my job....because most days, I do.
This is when my positive attitude comes into play. I take lots of deep breaths, hug my boys, remind myself how grateful I am and things could always be worse. Then at night after I put them to bed, I pour myself a glass of wine and unwind to start all over again the next day.
Thank God Don and I get to have an adult only night out tomorrow because we both need and deserve a break.
So Santa, I have been a very good girl this year and have been dealt an awfully bad life hand one too many times in return. I understand that that's life sometimes, but it'd sure be nice if you could sprinkle some of your Christmas magic over my household this season so we can put an end to the darkest year of our lives with a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Erin
99% of the time I absolutely love being a stay at home mom and wouldn't trade it for the world. However, on those other 1% days I ask myself if I'm the right person for this challenging job. Today is sadly one of those days. I hate feeling this way and am always caught off guard by the feelings as well. These feelings are often followed by me hiding out in the bathroom and quietly crying as I try to decompress, take some deep breaths and suck it up to do what I have to do...caring, nurturing, teaching and loving my boys endlessly no matter how crazy they make me at times.
This morning started out good. I got some terrific sleep filled with some sweet dreams, including one of my hottie celebrity bad boy crush Eminem. You can't not wake up with a smile on your face after dreaming about him! Hee hee hee! Anyways, the boys got up and played well together...at first. That quickly changed and lead to some massive fights followed by loud cries and a river of tears. There is nothing worse then having to deal with screaming and crying kids first thing in the morning while you're still trying to wake up and start the day off on the right foot. It was quite obvious that the wrong foot got the best of our household and my head soon began to throb. Aiden had two time outs by 8am, I had already lost my patience several times and the wrath of Liam had quickly begun to torture our house and everything in his path!
The minute I try to do something as quickly and as simple as going downstairs to make our bed and pick out my clothes for the day, I return upstairs to find Aiden had crashed Liam into the Christmas tree on his ride-on bus creating a huge needle mess, the toilet paper had been completely rolled out all over the bathroom floor, Aiden had eaten candy off the gingerbread house breaking off chunks of the icing all over the kitchen counters and Liam was playing with the disgusting toilet plunger. Wow! It was enough to make my head spin! Maybe on other days when I hadn't already lost my patience I would have been able to handle these findings with a much more positive and humorous attitude, but thanks to the way our day had already started I was by far in no mood to clean up mess after mess all while trying to keep the boys from not killing each other too.
Challenge? To say the least! It's like one of those days when I used to work outside the house and all day long I had to repeat to myself, I love my job, I love my job, I love my job....because most days, I do.
This is when my positive attitude comes into play. I take lots of deep breaths, hug my boys, remind myself how grateful I am and things could always be worse. Then at night after I put them to bed, I pour myself a glass of wine and unwind to start all over again the next day.
Thank God Don and I get to have an adult only night out tomorrow because we both need and deserve a break.
So Santa, I have been a very good girl this year and have been dealt an awfully bad life hand one too many times in return. I understand that that's life sometimes, but it'd sure be nice if you could sprinkle some of your Christmas magic over my household this season so we can put an end to the darkest year of our lives with a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Erin
Monday, December 5, 2011
Just Another Walmart Adventure
This morning I was anxious to get out of the house with the boys. Why exactly? I'm not too sure considering it's only 19 degrees and snowing. I forget how much work it is bundling up both boys and myself just for a "quick" trip to the store. But if I don't suck it up and venture out, we'd be stuck inside all day everyday for the next several months as winter has clearly arrived.
So, needless to say, the boys and I bundled up this morning and began just another one of our Walmart adventures that almost always never cease to amaze me. Whether it's the people we see, something we find, or something one of the boys does, a trip to Walmart usually never fails us to be a form of pure Sweet family fun and entertainment. Wow! Did I really just say that a trip to Walmart can be entertaining???!!! What has come of me???!!! Either I need to get out of this town or I'm getting old and it no longer takes much to entertain me.
We begin with some simple grocery shopping. I come across these cute toddler juice bottles with Tigger on top to sip the juice from. I hand it to Liam to keep him occupied as he seems thrilled to have it in hand. He continuously plays with it and tries to drink it as we finish our grocery shopping and head to the kid's winter boot department as we came to discover Aiden's boots no longer fit him so he had to wear his rain boots yesterday to play outside in the snow. I begin to have Aiden try on boots, which quickly became a whining and complaining battle with me having to threaten him that we won't go look at toys if he doesn't cooperate and try the boots on. Next thing I know, the Tigger sippy thing from the juice is on the ground and Liam has poked a hole in the juice cover and was proceeding to drink it and spill it all down the front of him! This is something he loves to do at home as well. He gets into the fridge, grabs a little smoothie, pokes a hole in the top with his teeth and sucks on it until it's either gone or spilled all over the place. Anyways, I become distracted with the juice fiasco, put the Tigger lid back on and toss it into the cart. I finally get Aiden to try on a pair he picked out himself - camouflage ones of course - and he miraculously likes them and they fit. He tosses them into the cart and we're officially "done" shopping.
At the end of each of our shopping trips there I always let the boys look at the toys for a few minutes if they were good. For the most part they were this time, so onward to the toy section we go. Not to mention this gives me some time to scope out toys to get them for Christmas as well. Liam is now cleaned up from the juice, we got all our groceries, got Aiden new boots and were having fun checking out all the new toys that have come in since our last visit when all of a sudden Aiden says, "Mom, my shoe is missing!" I look down at his feet and sure enough his shoe was missing! Did I seriously forget to put his shoe back on after trying on boots and he seriously just walked across the entire store with only one shoe on?! OMG! I couldn't help but begin to laugh hysterically. We instantly rush back to the boot section and sure enough there was his shoe. Thank goodness it was still there! We quickly get his shoe back on and head to check out when Aiden picks up a candy cane filled with candy Runts. I agree to get them for him and we once again, head to check out. As I quickly whip our stuff through the self checkout lane I all of a sudden hear a quiet crash and there went the plastic candycane onto the floor where it broke open and Runts went everywhere. I silently began to count to 3 in my head just waiting for the explosion of cries and tears that were sure to follow. 1, 2, 3.....whhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mom is always right! Thankfully the checkout lady was very sweet and understanding and sent someone to get him a new candy cane. The poor boy could barely breathe by the end of the incident. Hmmmm.....maybe I should keep a bag of Runts around for bribery if he loves them that much.
By the time I was done checking us out and putting everything in our cart I was in need of some serious deep breaths. I bundled us back up and headed back out into the cold for the drive home. Thank you Walmart for the laughs, tears, smiles, good deals, people watching and pure craziness that lead to our little adventures and break up the monotony of our days at home. Until next time....
So, needless to say, the boys and I bundled up this morning and began just another one of our Walmart adventures that almost always never cease to amaze me. Whether it's the people we see, something we find, or something one of the boys does, a trip to Walmart usually never fails us to be a form of pure Sweet family fun and entertainment. Wow! Did I really just say that a trip to Walmart can be entertaining???!!! What has come of me???!!! Either I need to get out of this town or I'm getting old and it no longer takes much to entertain me.
We begin with some simple grocery shopping. I come across these cute toddler juice bottles with Tigger on top to sip the juice from. I hand it to Liam to keep him occupied as he seems thrilled to have it in hand. He continuously plays with it and tries to drink it as we finish our grocery shopping and head to the kid's winter boot department as we came to discover Aiden's boots no longer fit him so he had to wear his rain boots yesterday to play outside in the snow. I begin to have Aiden try on boots, which quickly became a whining and complaining battle with me having to threaten him that we won't go look at toys if he doesn't cooperate and try the boots on. Next thing I know, the Tigger sippy thing from the juice is on the ground and Liam has poked a hole in the juice cover and was proceeding to drink it and spill it all down the front of him! This is something he loves to do at home as well. He gets into the fridge, grabs a little smoothie, pokes a hole in the top with his teeth and sucks on it until it's either gone or spilled all over the place. Anyways, I become distracted with the juice fiasco, put the Tigger lid back on and toss it into the cart. I finally get Aiden to try on a pair he picked out himself - camouflage ones of course - and he miraculously likes them and they fit. He tosses them into the cart and we're officially "done" shopping.
At the end of each of our shopping trips there I always let the boys look at the toys for a few minutes if they were good. For the most part they were this time, so onward to the toy section we go. Not to mention this gives me some time to scope out toys to get them for Christmas as well. Liam is now cleaned up from the juice, we got all our groceries, got Aiden new boots and were having fun checking out all the new toys that have come in since our last visit when all of a sudden Aiden says, "Mom, my shoe is missing!" I look down at his feet and sure enough his shoe was missing! Did I seriously forget to put his shoe back on after trying on boots and he seriously just walked across the entire store with only one shoe on?! OMG! I couldn't help but begin to laugh hysterically. We instantly rush back to the boot section and sure enough there was his shoe. Thank goodness it was still there! We quickly get his shoe back on and head to check out when Aiden picks up a candy cane filled with candy Runts. I agree to get them for him and we once again, head to check out. As I quickly whip our stuff through the self checkout lane I all of a sudden hear a quiet crash and there went the plastic candycane onto the floor where it broke open and Runts went everywhere. I silently began to count to 3 in my head just waiting for the explosion of cries and tears that were sure to follow. 1, 2, 3.....whhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mom is always right! Thankfully the checkout lady was very sweet and understanding and sent someone to get him a new candy cane. The poor boy could barely breathe by the end of the incident. Hmmmm.....maybe I should keep a bag of Runts around for bribery if he loves them that much.
By the time I was done checking us out and putting everything in our cart I was in need of some serious deep breaths. I bundled us back up and headed back out into the cold for the drive home. Thank you Walmart for the laughs, tears, smiles, good deals, people watching and pure craziness that lead to our little adventures and break up the monotony of our days at home. Until next time....
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
The Christmas Tree vs Liam
For the past week or so my husband and I have been discussing the issues with putting up a Christmas tree and having our 15 month old wild child Liam in the same vicinity as the tree all day, every day. We have a strict family tradition of getting a real tree. However, because of Liam I brought up us getting a fake tree for this year only. All I could picture was Liam yanking at the tree and needles constantly flying everywhere. Or him even eating the needles and pooping them out! Yes, these were seriously my thoughts. Don shot my idea down saying we'd still get our usual real tree and just teach Liam not to touch it. Ha! I'm sure he can easily make that decision because he wouldn't be the one chasing the baby away from the tree all day long.
I eventually mentioned the dilemma to my mom who advised us to skip getting a tree all together this year. I know her Christmas spirit is a bit dim this year due to the recent passing of my dad, but I agreed with her that going without a tree for one year isn't going to be the end of the world of hurt anyone. All it would do is save me from insanity, in my eyes, but in Don's eyes I was being a scrooge and because we have kids they can't have a Christmas without a tree. I understand his point of view as well, but once again, he doesn't have to be the one home all day fighting the endless battle to save the tree from being destroyed by our ball of energy, wild boys.
In the end, Don won me over and we continued our family tradition by going to get our beautiful and lovely smelling real tree yesterday afternoon. We got the tree up, lit and decorated and it looked great...and even stood up straight for once! We looked around at our nicely holiday decorated home and it felt and looked wonderful. I simply love this time of year and all the home decor that goes along with it. I can feel my home come to life with lights, color, the life of the tree, fresh pine scents, cheerful music and pure bliss. That is until...do do do do.......do do do do.......the little ever so cute monster Liam is let loose and the battle of the tree vs Liam begins!
Yesterday Don was off for the day so I had his help keeping Liam either away from the tree or only playing with the unbreakable ornaments that I purposely placed on the bottom of the tree so I wouldn't have a problem with him taking these ones off to play with. So that day wasn't so bad. Today, however, is a whole different story as I'm the only one here trying to control an uncontrollable boy and situation. I did make the mistake of placing some of the cranberry strings lower on the tree, so of course Liam was fascinated by the red ball looking objects and eyed them like his prey until he was finally able to yank an entire string off while I was out of the room for a whole minute or two. Then Aiden just had to fight with him over it and sure enough, the string busted and the cranberries went everywhere! That was my final straw. It wasn't even 9am and I was beyond over this endless battle. It was exhausting and clearly stressing me out, even though I had swore up and down to not let the issue get to me because it's just a tree and just decorations. It's not as though Liam is running around with my wedding ring in his mouth or something insane like that. I get it. The tree is something new. It's pretty. There's lights and shiny objects on it. What 15 month old child wouldn't want to get his hands all over it and play? But it's still one more thing for Liam to get into and me having to spend the day trying to keep him away from it. I thought him getting into the pantry was bad! Hell, at this point he can dump all the crackers on the floor all he wants if he would just leave our pretty tree alone. I know I'm asking a lot, probably too much, so at this point I either need to just let him go and if the tree gets destroyed then so be it or take it down all together. I can't let myself get worked up and stressed out over something that's not going to get any better anytime soon. I knew this was going to be the case, I still gave into getting the tree, so now I have to deal with the consequences. To top it all off I noticed the tree stand is leaking water everywhere. Gotta love icing on the cake!
So I'm afraid to say that at the end of this war....the Christmas Tree vs Liam.....Liam is sure to be the winner!
Good thing I have a huge stock of ibuprofen, because for the next month, I'm especially going to need it!
I eventually mentioned the dilemma to my mom who advised us to skip getting a tree all together this year. I know her Christmas spirit is a bit dim this year due to the recent passing of my dad, but I agreed with her that going without a tree for one year isn't going to be the end of the world of hurt anyone. All it would do is save me from insanity, in my eyes, but in Don's eyes I was being a scrooge and because we have kids they can't have a Christmas without a tree. I understand his point of view as well, but once again, he doesn't have to be the one home all day fighting the endless battle to save the tree from being destroyed by our ball of energy, wild boys.
In the end, Don won me over and we continued our family tradition by going to get our beautiful and lovely smelling real tree yesterday afternoon. We got the tree up, lit and decorated and it looked great...and even stood up straight for once! We looked around at our nicely holiday decorated home and it felt and looked wonderful. I simply love this time of year and all the home decor that goes along with it. I can feel my home come to life with lights, color, the life of the tree, fresh pine scents, cheerful music and pure bliss. That is until...do do do do.......do do do do.......the little ever so cute monster Liam is let loose and the battle of the tree vs Liam begins!
Yesterday Don was off for the day so I had his help keeping Liam either away from the tree or only playing with the unbreakable ornaments that I purposely placed on the bottom of the tree so I wouldn't have a problem with him taking these ones off to play with. So that day wasn't so bad. Today, however, is a whole different story as I'm the only one here trying to control an uncontrollable boy and situation. I did make the mistake of placing some of the cranberry strings lower on the tree, so of course Liam was fascinated by the red ball looking objects and eyed them like his prey until he was finally able to yank an entire string off while I was out of the room for a whole minute or two. Then Aiden just had to fight with him over it and sure enough, the string busted and the cranberries went everywhere! That was my final straw. It wasn't even 9am and I was beyond over this endless battle. It was exhausting and clearly stressing me out, even though I had swore up and down to not let the issue get to me because it's just a tree and just decorations. It's not as though Liam is running around with my wedding ring in his mouth or something insane like that. I get it. The tree is something new. It's pretty. There's lights and shiny objects on it. What 15 month old child wouldn't want to get his hands all over it and play? But it's still one more thing for Liam to get into and me having to spend the day trying to keep him away from it. I thought him getting into the pantry was bad! Hell, at this point he can dump all the crackers on the floor all he wants if he would just leave our pretty tree alone. I know I'm asking a lot, probably too much, so at this point I either need to just let him go and if the tree gets destroyed then so be it or take it down all together. I can't let myself get worked up and stressed out over something that's not going to get any better anytime soon. I knew this was going to be the case, I still gave into getting the tree, so now I have to deal with the consequences. To top it all off I noticed the tree stand is leaking water everywhere. Gotta love icing on the cake!
So I'm afraid to say that at the end of this war....the Christmas Tree vs Liam.....Liam is sure to be the winner!
Liam vs The Christmas Tree
Good thing I have a huge stock of ibuprofen, because for the next month, I'm especially going to need it!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Two is Enough for Me...I think
Yesterday I was grocery shopping at Walmart....yes, I said Walmart, and don't even think of giving me shit for that! I would totally shop at Target or Meijer if we had those one stop shopping choices, but we don't, so Walmart it is. I'll secretly admit, I kind of like it too. Okay, enough of the Walmart talk! Back to my story!
So...like I said...I was shopping the other day and while in the check out lane an older lady started to chat with me. She was watching Aiden and Liam interact together and then proceeded to tell me a funny story about her grand daughter's letter to Santa asking if he can bring her all the toys and nothing for her little sister. I literally laughed out loud and told her that Aiden would seriously ask Santa to just take Liam away. He'd be happy having no more baby brother in his way for Christmas rather then all the legos in the world. Although I write that now, but lately the boys have been playing so wonderfully together and each time that happens my heart only glows with more and more warmth.
My random conversation with the old lady continued. She said that when two of her boys were younger that absolutely hated each other. The older one ended up joining the Army and was sent off to Iraq several times. Years later his younger brother decided to join the Navy and the older brother had his behind. He was so upset with his decision and wanted nothing more then for his little brother to be safe and sound instead of being sent off to his well known future in the war. This story also reminded me of Aiden and Liam. Aiden continuously says how much he doesn't like Liam and wishes he wasn't here, but then there are numerous moments throughout each day when I catch Aiden looking out for Liam's well being, playing with Liam and reaching out to be Liam's big brother who underneath it all truly loves him unconditionally.
The last part of our Walmart checkout lane conversation was about her having 7 boys! Yes folks, I said SEVEN!!! O-M-G!!! I proceeded to tell her that I had always wanted 3 or 4 children, but because I've been blessed with 2 wild boys first, I plan to stop right here in my baby making tracks, because two boys is plenty for me, or so I think, for now. She looked at me with such genuine, caring and understanding eyes that let me know she knew exactly where I was coming from. She then told me yes, it's not easy when the boys are young, but she also informed me how amazing her life is now with them all grown and looking out for her left and right. She said the other say one of her sons called her and she couldn't answer the phone because she was busy doing laundry. He immediately showed up at her house worried about her thinking maybe she had had a heart attack and that's why she hadn't answered the phone. I absolutely love mama's boys who grow up to look after their mom and love her like no one else.
I also look forward to that grown relationship with my boys, but I just honestly don't know if I could handle another little one jumping off my couches, climbing in my pantry and peeing all over my toilets. I think boys are amazing. A huge burst of energy that fills me with a special kind of love where already I can sense them looking out for me and wanting to make sure I am okay, as I also hope they do as adults. I like to think I'm raising independent mama's boys, because in my own personal experience, the mama's boys are the best boys and treat their ladies the best as well.
I deeply enjoy and love being a mom to two vivacious and full of life boys. However, I just don't see a possible third one in my future creating a personal path to sanity either. They are fun and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but they challenge me every other minute and truly make me believe that I am totally satisfied with ending my child bearing years with my little Aries and Leo by my side. Maybe, just maybe, if I was guaranteed a girl round three I'd take that route, or if I lived near more family for more support, but those are not my reality, so at the end of the day I'm very happy with my decision and love the feeling of completeness I now feel when looking at my amazing three boys knowing that this is it and will just hope and pray they give me lots of grand babies in the future to continue the growth of our beautiful family that I love so much!
So...like I said...I was shopping the other day and while in the check out lane an older lady started to chat with me. She was watching Aiden and Liam interact together and then proceeded to tell me a funny story about her grand daughter's letter to Santa asking if he can bring her all the toys and nothing for her little sister. I literally laughed out loud and told her that Aiden would seriously ask Santa to just take Liam away. He'd be happy having no more baby brother in his way for Christmas rather then all the legos in the world. Although I write that now, but lately the boys have been playing so wonderfully together and each time that happens my heart only glows with more and more warmth.
My random conversation with the old lady continued. She said that when two of her boys were younger that absolutely hated each other. The older one ended up joining the Army and was sent off to Iraq several times. Years later his younger brother decided to join the Navy and the older brother had his behind. He was so upset with his decision and wanted nothing more then for his little brother to be safe and sound instead of being sent off to his well known future in the war. This story also reminded me of Aiden and Liam. Aiden continuously says how much he doesn't like Liam and wishes he wasn't here, but then there are numerous moments throughout each day when I catch Aiden looking out for Liam's well being, playing with Liam and reaching out to be Liam's big brother who underneath it all truly loves him unconditionally.
The last part of our Walmart checkout lane conversation was about her having 7 boys! Yes folks, I said SEVEN!!! O-M-G!!! I proceeded to tell her that I had always wanted 3 or 4 children, but because I've been blessed with 2 wild boys first, I plan to stop right here in my baby making tracks, because two boys is plenty for me, or so I think, for now. She looked at me with such genuine, caring and understanding eyes that let me know she knew exactly where I was coming from. She then told me yes, it's not easy when the boys are young, but she also informed me how amazing her life is now with them all grown and looking out for her left and right. She said the other say one of her sons called her and she couldn't answer the phone because she was busy doing laundry. He immediately showed up at her house worried about her thinking maybe she had had a heart attack and that's why she hadn't answered the phone. I absolutely love mama's boys who grow up to look after their mom and love her like no one else.
I also look forward to that grown relationship with my boys, but I just honestly don't know if I could handle another little one jumping off my couches, climbing in my pantry and peeing all over my toilets. I think boys are amazing. A huge burst of energy that fills me with a special kind of love where already I can sense them looking out for me and wanting to make sure I am okay, as I also hope they do as adults. I like to think I'm raising independent mama's boys, because in my own personal experience, the mama's boys are the best boys and treat their ladies the best as well.
I deeply enjoy and love being a mom to two vivacious and full of life boys. However, I just don't see a possible third one in my future creating a personal path to sanity either. They are fun and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but they challenge me every other minute and truly make me believe that I am totally satisfied with ending my child bearing years with my little Aries and Leo by my side. Maybe, just maybe, if I was guaranteed a girl round three I'd take that route, or if I lived near more family for more support, but those are not my reality, so at the end of the day I'm very happy with my decision and love the feeling of completeness I now feel when looking at my amazing three boys knowing that this is it and will just hope and pray they give me lots of grand babies in the future to continue the growth of our beautiful family that I love so much!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
A Morning of Grief with Aiden
Yesterday morning was an emotional roller coaster ride of grief. It might sound strange, but it was one of the most special moments I've had in a long time, especially because I shared the experience with Aiden who is grieving the loss of his beloved Papa just as much as I am over the loss of my father just 3 short months ago.
Aiden has a wonderful book called "The Kissing Hand". The story is about a mom who shows her son that if she kisses his hand and he is ever without her and missing her, all he has to do is hold his hand to his cheek and remember his mother's love is always with him no matter where he goes. The book came with some cute heart shaped stickers that say The Kissing Hand on them so you can place a sticker on your hand to remind you of that endless love.
Yesterday morning I walked into Aiden's room and he had placed one of the stickers up on his bedroom wall. He told me it was for Papa because he will always be in his heart. He then showed me the two stickers he had placed on each of his hands and said one was for me and the other was for Grandma. I immediately teared up and hugged him tightly as he continued to display his grief and telling me how much he misses Papa.
We then went out into the living room where I was watching the very emotional final farewell to Regis show. They had the cast of "Rent" come on to perform their wonderful song "Seasons of Love" only changing some of the words to match things within Regis's long time career on the Regis and Kelly Show. I have always loved this song and for some reason it now makes me think of my dad. I lost it. So while Aiden sits on the couch continuing to say how much he misses Papa and that we need to get a new Papa, I sobbed while Liam looks at both of us in total confusion and of course a sense of humor. I haven't cried over the loss of my dad in quite some time. People keep telling me the tears will often come out of no where and can be brought on by simple things, like a song or a smell, and they couldn't have been more right.
Aiden and I embraced with tears flowing and it felt amazing to say the least. To have someone, even a four year old, to share those moments with is priceless. I explained to him like I always do that it's okay to be sad and it's okay to cry. When we have such raw emotions come to the surface we need to be sure to just stop what ever we're doing and take the time to feel. It was a much needed release for the both of us and my biggest hope is that by me and Aiden sharing our moments of grief together that we will also continue to heal and find peace together as well.
Missing you now and always Dad/Papa. May you continue to watch over us, rest in peace and live on in our hearts forever.
Aiden has a wonderful book called "The Kissing Hand". The story is about a mom who shows her son that if she kisses his hand and he is ever without her and missing her, all he has to do is hold his hand to his cheek and remember his mother's love is always with him no matter where he goes. The book came with some cute heart shaped stickers that say The Kissing Hand on them so you can place a sticker on your hand to remind you of that endless love.
Yesterday morning I walked into Aiden's room and he had placed one of the stickers up on his bedroom wall. He told me it was for Papa because he will always be in his heart. He then showed me the two stickers he had placed on each of his hands and said one was for me and the other was for Grandma. I immediately teared up and hugged him tightly as he continued to display his grief and telling me how much he misses Papa.
We then went out into the living room where I was watching the very emotional final farewell to Regis show. They had the cast of "Rent" come on to perform their wonderful song "Seasons of Love" only changing some of the words to match things within Regis's long time career on the Regis and Kelly Show. I have always loved this song and for some reason it now makes me think of my dad. I lost it. So while Aiden sits on the couch continuing to say how much he misses Papa and that we need to get a new Papa, I sobbed while Liam looks at both of us in total confusion and of course a sense of humor. I haven't cried over the loss of my dad in quite some time. People keep telling me the tears will often come out of no where and can be brought on by simple things, like a song or a smell, and they couldn't have been more right.
Aiden and I embraced with tears flowing and it felt amazing to say the least. To have someone, even a four year old, to share those moments with is priceless. I explained to him like I always do that it's okay to be sad and it's okay to cry. When we have such raw emotions come to the surface we need to be sure to just stop what ever we're doing and take the time to feel. It was a much needed release for the both of us and my biggest hope is that by me and Aiden sharing our moments of grief together that we will also continue to heal and find peace together as well.
Missing you now and always Dad/Papa. May you continue to watch over us, rest in peace and live on in our hearts forever.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Just Because I Complain Sometimes, Doesn't Mean I'm not Grateful
As a mom, especially a stay at home mom with a husband who works very long hours to help support us and a family who lives 700 miles away (except for my sister who is thankfully also here in MN), I feel I have rightfully earned the right to complain once in a while. Look, I get it, things could always be worse. I could be a single mom, I could have a husband in the military who's away for years at a time, I could have no family at all or one who is so messed up I choose for them to not even be a part of my life, I could have an unhealthy child in and out of the hospital all the time, I could be infertile and unable to have any children of my own and so on and so forth. Always knowing that things could be worse and I could really have a lot more bigger and uglier things to complain about does keep me grounded knowing that I truly do live a wonderful life filled with many blessings to be ever so grateful for.
Motherhood is one of the most amazing and beautiful experiences I have ever been blessed with. However, if you want to be real about it too, you can honestly say, as I have no shame in saying, that it's also one of the most challenging "jobs" you'll ever face. Every day is a unique roller coaster with its own surprise twists, turns and sometimes upside down loopty loops! Not one day is perfect, and I'm okay with that because guess what, that's life. If it was perfect, honestly it'd be boring. Some mornings Aiden wakes up hating Liam and wanting nothing to do with him. Ten minutes later they're chasing each other around in the dark with flashlights filling our home with childhood laughter that can make anyone smile on their worst of days. This is exactly what the beauty and amazement of parenthood is all about. Your children will drive you absolutely up the wall and then turn around and do something so sweet and so priceless that makes all the madness worth every headache at the end of each day. These moments I'm forever grateful for. They keep me sane and always remind me why I love what I do and that even though life in general can be crazy and insane while throwing us curve balls left and right, it's the beautiful moments in life that end up shining through all the darkness and those are the moments that keep us grateful for the lives we have and the lives we're going to continue to live in the future.
Motherhood is one of the most amazing and beautiful experiences I have ever been blessed with. However, if you want to be real about it too, you can honestly say, as I have no shame in saying, that it's also one of the most challenging "jobs" you'll ever face. Every day is a unique roller coaster with its own surprise twists, turns and sometimes upside down loopty loops! Not one day is perfect, and I'm okay with that because guess what, that's life. If it was perfect, honestly it'd be boring. Some mornings Aiden wakes up hating Liam and wanting nothing to do with him. Ten minutes later they're chasing each other around in the dark with flashlights filling our home with childhood laughter that can make anyone smile on their worst of days. This is exactly what the beauty and amazement of parenthood is all about. Your children will drive you absolutely up the wall and then turn around and do something so sweet and so priceless that makes all the madness worth every headache at the end of each day. These moments I'm forever grateful for. They keep me sane and always remind me why I love what I do and that even though life in general can be crazy and insane while throwing us curve balls left and right, it's the beautiful moments in life that end up shining through all the darkness and those are the moments that keep us grateful for the lives we have and the lives we're going to continue to live in the future.
Three of my most precious blessings that I'll forever be grateful for!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Sweet Barbershop
I have been cutting Aiden's hair since he was born and have begun to cut Liam's as well. I must admit that poor Aiden was tortured with a bowl cut for quite some time as I clearly had no idea what the heck I was doing. However, the kid screamed bloody murder every time we attempted to get his hair professionally cut, which was way more torture then me just doing it at home and him living with a horrible hair cut.
Need I say more???
Needless to say, my hair cutting skills have come a long way, although of course they are no where near perfected. However, I must say I have saved our family hundreds of dollars in hair cuts since my boy's hair grows like a weed and needs to be cut every 2 weeks! I actually enjoy doing it when he behaves and sits still. Otherwise, it's a complete and utter nightmare that stresses me out to the max and makes him cry like someone is trying to murder him. I literally have him sit on the living room floor on a towel in front of the tv with cartoons on with hopes of him sitting still and letting me do my job. When this miraculously happens, I think I can do a pretty dang good job for the most part and the results are my handsome little man looking so grown up! When this doesn't happen, I literally have to hold him down while he kicks and screams trying to chop away the best I can. The results can often be dangerous with a total botched hair cut that only embarrasses myself. Of course, he could care less.
Today was a big day at the Sweet Barbershop! For the first time Aiden let me trim around his ears and his neck with the clippers!!! O-M-G!!! This my friends is a miracle!!! He's always been very sensitive to noise, so if I even attempted to come near him with the clippers he would run. Today, this was not the case, once again showing me how much he's growing up and more accepting to change. Hats off to Aiden!!! For the first time ever he doesn't have a single sign of side burns or neck fuzz! YAY!!! You just don't know how much this excites me and I know he was pretty dang proud of himself too.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Motherhood and Hangovers Don't Mix
Saturday night we had some good friends down from the cities for the night. We had a little too much fun together as Ma introduced me to a new pink liquid of yumminess called Nuvo (I think). It's like a sparkling champagne, but you take shots of it instead. Needless to say, yeah, we drank the entire bottle while our men were at the bar picking up dinner. No, no...number one. Number two was when Don suggested we bust open the Polish bottle of vodka we'd been hanging on to for years to share with my dad who had such a deep love for his Polish background and was always fascinated with anything Polish. Thankfully I only took one very small shot of that and had one small cranberry and vodka drink, but obviously that was after I had already consumed enough alcohol to put me out for the night! Oh how visitors know how to help us let loose. Now if only it didn't hurt so bad the next day!
I absolutely hate hangovers, as I'm sure everybody does, but being a mom and dealing with one is twice the pain. Not only do they clearly not understand why you don't feel so good and are acting quite sluggish, but of course they expect you to be on your toes like usual and do all the wonderful super mommy things you normally do on a daily basis. Talk about guilt! Thankfully I can say I did make it to bed early compared to many of our other nights hanging out with friends, but I'm also sure I drank enough for a few people so no matter how much sleep I got it was not going to make too much of a difference.
It was a very good thing that both boys slept in Sunday morning and sure enough I dragged my butt out of bed to care for them as I always do and always will no matter how crappy I might feel. That's just what a good mom does, and yes, I'm a good, no great, mom! :)
However, I will admit that I really didn't feel like running around and playing with them as much as I usually do. I'm sure I resorted to the tv as entertainment even more then I usually do, if that's even possible! I also took a nice long nap with Liam instead of cleaning up our mess from the night before. How dare I?! I just felt bad knowing what a beautiful day it was outside and we sat lazily inside all day with hopes of curing our hangovers and waiting for bedtime to come so we could get the day over with and feel normal again. No, the boys did not break. Yes, we all survived and everyone was well cared for none the less. I just prefer to not feel that badly when I need to play my mommy role too. They just don't mix. Kind of like during my pre-kid days when I had to go to work hungover sometimes. Same thing. Motherhood is now my job and lord knows trying to perform the best I can at my job with a pounding head and a woozy stomach just don't go hand in hand.
With that said, I will not be partying like I'm 20 again anytime soon. It was fun while it lasted, but just not worth the pain that comes with it!
The first culprit...
And the second culprit!
If we only knew...
I absolutely hate hangovers, as I'm sure everybody does, but being a mom and dealing with one is twice the pain. Not only do they clearly not understand why you don't feel so good and are acting quite sluggish, but of course they expect you to be on your toes like usual and do all the wonderful super mommy things you normally do on a daily basis. Talk about guilt! Thankfully I can say I did make it to bed early compared to many of our other nights hanging out with friends, but I'm also sure I drank enough for a few people so no matter how much sleep I got it was not going to make too much of a difference.
It was a very good thing that both boys slept in Sunday morning and sure enough I dragged my butt out of bed to care for them as I always do and always will no matter how crappy I might feel. That's just what a good mom does, and yes, I'm a good, no great, mom! :)
However, I will admit that I really didn't feel like running around and playing with them as much as I usually do. I'm sure I resorted to the tv as entertainment even more then I usually do, if that's even possible! I also took a nice long nap with Liam instead of cleaning up our mess from the night before. How dare I?! I just felt bad knowing what a beautiful day it was outside and we sat lazily inside all day with hopes of curing our hangovers and waiting for bedtime to come so we could get the day over with and feel normal again. No, the boys did not break. Yes, we all survived and everyone was well cared for none the less. I just prefer to not feel that badly when I need to play my mommy role too. They just don't mix. Kind of like during my pre-kid days when I had to go to work hungover sometimes. Same thing. Motherhood is now my job and lord knows trying to perform the best I can at my job with a pounding head and a woozy stomach just don't go hand in hand.
With that said, I will not be partying like I'm 20 again anytime soon. It was fun while it lasted, but just not worth the pain that comes with it!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Raising Rock Stars
I love listening to music. I have a sincere passion for a wide variety of genres from country to hip hop and everything in between. I'm not one of those moms who drives around in the car letting my kids listen to their lullabies and nursery rhyme songs. It's one of the only few and far between moments that I get to listen to MY music without anyone telling me what they want to listen to instead. I refuse to drive around "rocking out" to Nickelodeon's Fresh Beat Band or bobbing my head to Wheels on the Bus when I'm forced to listen to the sunshine and rainbow tunes all day long while the boys watch their cartoons. So don't get me wrong, I don't deprive them of the kiddie music. It's just when driving I don't find anything much more satisfying then jamming out to great tunes all while introducing my children to "real" music.
Now, here's the issue at hand. What's the best kind of music to allow your children to listen to? I always thought being the good mom I am to never listen to my fuck filled rap music around the boys, that's a given. So I thought country would be the next best, especially since it's one of my true loves, which by the way years ago I swore up and down I would NEVER listen to country music. For the most part the tunes are what I considered kid friendly, that is until I started to notice Aiden busting out singing tunes he had memorized on his own. There's something that just doesn't seem right or "appropriate" when a four year old is singing "Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey, whiskey makes my baby feel a little frisky" or "It's a quarter after one and I'm a little drunk and I need you now" or "A drink in my hand with no bottom". So the country songs may not be full of cuss words, but instead many mention drinking, partying and getting drunk. Which is better??? Obviously I'd rather have my child singing about drinking rather then busting out f bombs in preschool, but either way the content just isn't very age appropriate for my little ones. If you know me I'm far from a prude and very laid back when it comes to raising my kids. I have no fear of drinking a beer in front of them, although it's not like I'm getting sloshed around them by any means either. However, the last thing I need my child to be singing about in school or around other people who don't really know us is topics involving things he won't be legal to do until 16 years from now. It's funny at home around us and our friends who know what great parents me and Don are, but then you get outside around people who wouldn't understand and would look down on us for those type of songs coming out of our sweet four year old's mouth. I want to say I don't give a shit what other people think about my kids or us as parents since I know the truth along with the people who we care about, but I also don't need Aiden teaching other kids these songs and have their parents no longer allow their kids to play with him because of it. Trust me, his favorite saying of poopy baby diaper has probably come close to knocking out a few good buddies of his thanks to his lovely potty mouth.
With that all said, I feel like I just ranted and raved on about something so silly that I really shouldn't even be worried about. Is that what makes me a good parent at the end of the day? That I really can be concerned with what my child is learning and what kind of words are coming out of their mouths without seeming like an overbearing and over protective prune of a mother? I sure hope so!
I think it's important to introduce children of all ages to music of all genres. It only helps expand their minds and knowledge of an amazing art that can be inspirational and change lives. I want them to grow up knowing how cool their parents really are because at times we choose to turn the tv off and crank the tunes up and I only want them to follow in our footsteps and make music one of their great true loves as well.
Friday, November 11, 2011
I Never Said I Was Perfect
Confessions of a not so perfect mommy:
1. I use bribery...on a daily basis!
2. My one year old has already had candy, cookies, chocolate milk, lemonade and even sips of my diet coke!
3. I still dress my four and a half year old.
4. Aiden wasn't potty trained until he was over 4 years old.
5. Sometimes lets my child win because the fight is too exhausting.
6. I have fallen "asleep" on the couch while my children are up and playing.
7. I let my kids watch way too much TV.
8. My almost 15 month old still takes a bottle at bedtime.
9. My house is never completely clean and never will be and I could care less.
10. When Aiden asks me to play with him I sometimes say no.
11. I sometimes let my kids watch TV while they eat.
12. I cook separate kiddie meals for the boys every night.
13. I pretty much let Aiden eat what he wants as long as it's "real" food.
14. Aiden sleeps on a floor bed right next to our bed, but crawls into bed with us every night at some point.
15. Lets the boys play with toy guns and shoot at each other. Sometimes I join in on the fun.
16. Has given Liam an empty beer bottle to play with before. Whatever works, right?
17. I love my boys to death, but they will never be my life. They are an amazing part of my life, but I refuse to completely give myself up to motherhood. Believe it or not, I'm actually a wife, a friend, a sister, a daughter, a cousin and an individual too!
18. I enjoy my me time and will put my kids to bed early so I can have as much of it as possible, and this time often involves wine or beer.
19. I rarely sanitize my kid's toys, unless someone has been sick, then I give them a good Lysol spray down.
20. I often forget to wash the boys' hands before they eat.
21. My kids never wear a helmet when riding their bikes.
22. I don't read to my kids every day.
So, I could go on and on since obviously I am far from a perfect mom, but what is perfect anyways and wouldn't perfect be boring?! My boys are healthy, smart, thriving, growing, learning, happy and loved. In the end I'm sure that's all that really matters, not whether or not they ate vegetables or only watched one hour of television. Lord knows kids don't come with a handbook, so as parents we all just do what we know and have learned along the way all while hoping and praying that our children's end result is a success with us to thank at the end of the day.
1. I use bribery...on a daily basis!
2. My one year old has already had candy, cookies, chocolate milk, lemonade and even sips of my diet coke!
3. I still dress my four and a half year old.
4. Aiden wasn't potty trained until he was over 4 years old.
5. Sometimes lets my child win because the fight is too exhausting.
6. I have fallen "asleep" on the couch while my children are up and playing.
7. I let my kids watch way too much TV.
8. My almost 15 month old still takes a bottle at bedtime.
9. My house is never completely clean and never will be and I could care less.
10. When Aiden asks me to play with him I sometimes say no.
11. I sometimes let my kids watch TV while they eat.
12. I cook separate kiddie meals for the boys every night.
13. I pretty much let Aiden eat what he wants as long as it's "real" food.
14. Aiden sleeps on a floor bed right next to our bed, but crawls into bed with us every night at some point.
15. Lets the boys play with toy guns and shoot at each other. Sometimes I join in on the fun.
16. Has given Liam an empty beer bottle to play with before. Whatever works, right?
17. I love my boys to death, but they will never be my life. They are an amazing part of my life, but I refuse to completely give myself up to motherhood. Believe it or not, I'm actually a wife, a friend, a sister, a daughter, a cousin and an individual too!
18. I enjoy my me time and will put my kids to bed early so I can have as much of it as possible, and this time often involves wine or beer.
19. I rarely sanitize my kid's toys, unless someone has been sick, then I give them a good Lysol spray down.
20. I often forget to wash the boys' hands before they eat.
21. My kids never wear a helmet when riding their bikes.
22. I don't read to my kids every day.
So, I could go on and on since obviously I am far from a perfect mom, but what is perfect anyways and wouldn't perfect be boring?! My boys are healthy, smart, thriving, growing, learning, happy and loved. In the end I'm sure that's all that really matters, not whether or not they ate vegetables or only watched one hour of television. Lord knows kids don't come with a handbook, so as parents we all just do what we know and have learned along the way all while hoping and praying that our children's end result is a success with us to thank at the end of the day.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Introduction to my Mommy Madness
I have attempted blogging several times before. I always enjoy it, but for some odd reason my busy life as a wife and stay at home mom of two wild little boys gets in the way of me choosing to spend what little spare time I have blogging rather then sitting motionless on the couch watching trash tv and sipping a glass of wine. However, I'm hoping this go at it again is different because I'm finding a need a larger sense of an outlet and way to rant, rave and vent without judgement of who I am or what kind of mother I may choose to be.
With that said, I've been a stay at home mom for the past 2 years and some odd months. I'd like to think it was by choice, but after losing my last 3 jobs I just began to feel like "someone" out there above and beyond me was sending me a loud and clear message that it was time for me to leave the outside of the home work world and enter into a journey of being the one in charge of raising my children all while getting paid with the rewards of watching their every growth and development rather then in dollars and cents. Is it all worth it? Most days my response would be absolutely! However, I have my doubts of my true abilities to do this job the best that I can since half the time I feel like a walking zombie who lacks sleep, which in return causes me to have little patience or motivation to do much of anything besides keeping my boys alive.
I have two small boys, Aiden is 4 and a half and Liam turned 1 in August...note the day before my father passed away suddenly while we were all in Florida together on a family "dream" turned to nightmare vacation. We can save that rant and rave for another blog. My boys are truly the loves of my life even though they can drive me absolutely crazy on a daily basis. I have another love of my life, my third boy, my husband Don of 12 and a half years. Sadly, we don't get to see him near enough since he has to work his life away trying to support our one income family. He's beyond the hardest and dedicated worker I know and I can only hope our boys inherit that trait and one day understand why daddy was gone so much. He does it all for us.
My job may cause daily "madness" per se, but it also creates daily joys, laughter and a deep sense of accomplishment at the end of each day when the boys are fed, clean and tucked safely into bed while sound asleep and hopefully dreaming of sweet thoughts about how much they are loved each and every day. I sacrifice a lot to put them first, including long, hot showers where I can actually shave my legs and scrub my calloused feet instead of barely allowing myself enough time to wash my hair and body. I can only hope and pray that I'm doing a good job and raising them to become the independent, respectful, driven men myself and their dad wish for them to grow and develop in to. As I once heard, probably on an Oprah show, we're not raising kids, we're raising adults. So if you want them to become successful adults in the future then you have to sacrifice your time now as parents of young children to ensure you're doing all that you can to help guide them down the "right" path, whatever path that may be, and hope that they make the best choices in the end for themselves and their family.
So is the madness worth it, I'll ask again? My answer this time is without a doubt!
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